Conventional optical data transport methods and apparatus treat data traffic in a similar manner, and carry different types of data traffic using the same data transport path (e.g., the same “pipe”/same optical stream). Typical data transport methods and apparatus also treat users in a similar manner by providing an equal level of service in an optical layer to all customers and using data layer (e.g., Ethernet, MPLS, IP) throttling to control data flow. For example, carriers (e.g., an ISP) provide the same data transport service for a person paying twenty dollars per month and a company paying one million dollars per month. However, while revenue varies by customer, for a carrier that owns a data transport network (e.g., a metro network, a regional network, an inter-capital network, and/or an international submarine network), equipment costs are not dependent upon the type of traffic transported, traffic volume per user, revenue per user, or a type of user. Conventionally, all traffic is treated equally and without special consideration.
One type of data traffic transported by carriers is over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT content is data transported from a third party (i.e., not the carrier) to an end user via the carrier. The carrier does not control the contents of the OTT data being transported from the third party to the end user, and essentially only provides a “dumb pipe” to transport the data. In recent years, the new trend of delivering broadband audio, broadband video, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), social networking, games, and ecommerce from the third parties, to the end users (i.e., the “OTT flood”) pushes capacity constraints of conventional data transport networks because there are no limits to the quantity of data that the third party can attempt to force into a carrier's network. A disturbing effect of the OTT flood is that servicing the increase in demand for transport services exponentially increases the carrier's equipment costs, while providing essentially no increase in the carrier's revenue. From a business perspective, servicing OTT content using conventional telecommunications methods and apparatus leads carriers to financial difficulty, and provides customers with poorer quality of service, irrespective of the price paid by the customers for the service.
Accordingly, there are long-felt industry needs for methods and apparatus that improve upon conventional methods and apparatus, including the improved methods and apparatus provided hereby.